


Swim deep

by acornsandarrows



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Mer AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-23
Updated: 2014-08-16
Packaged: 2018-02-10 01:01:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 4,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2004969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acornsandarrows/pseuds/acornsandarrows
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mer people. Are they real or not? Astrid Hofferson doesn't think so, but the village people beg to differ. Hiccup does too. He's kind of insistent about that one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> NOt historically accurate.

“Wait! Put the axe down!”

Astrid came to an abrupt halt, sodden shift still not entirely on, and glared at the boy.

“Why should I?” she said roughly, but lowered it slightly all the same.

“Um,” the boy said, turning away and gesticulating with one hand, the other clamped over his eyes. “I can still…”  

Astrid looked down to see her linen under-gown was still visible and scowled, brushing her hair away from her face and quickly fixing her shift so it sat right. She wrapped her cloak around her shoulders for good measure.

“Now,” she said, raising her weapon again, settling her burning gaze back on the villain before her. And then she dropped the axe completely, stumbling back a bit in an attempt to put distance between her and the boy in the river.     

 He turned back to her, his hand sliding off his face into the water, and sighed in relief. Two silver fins flicked two and fro in the water, and he offered her a tentative grin.

Astrid’s mouth didn’t seem to be working with her anymore; she had trouble closing it, and then opening it again to speak.

“You have a tail?” she asked, her voice cracking. He nodded, frowning, and propelled himself towards her to rest his chin on the bank.

“You don’t.”

“Well obviously,” She tried to sound indignant but didn’t quite manage it.            

“So,” he wet his lips and looked around nervously, before whispering conspiratorially, “does that mean you’re a human?”

Astrid scowled, irritation replacing shock.

“What else would I be?” she asked haughtily, but the boy shrugged.

“Wood nymph maybe? Elf? You get all sorts round these parts.”

“I’ve never…” Astrid stopped herself. He kept distracting her from the real issue.

“Ok listen up merboy,” she spat, “you have three seconds to explain why you snuck up on me while I was bathing or you’ll taste this blade.”

To her surprise, he gave a short bark of laughter.

“I can’t believe you humans actually say things like that,” he chuckled, “you’re so. Uh I mean,” he backtracked hastily “what I mean to say was. I was going to say that I’m actually. Well. I didn’t sneak up on you per se. I just. I haven’t seen a human in a long time, and uh, I was… curious?” he finished, his voice tilting up questioningly. Almost placatingly.        

“Hm.” Astrid sat down, axe resting on her knees, and gave him another hard look. “Well, I hope you got a good enough look to ‘satisfy your curiosity.’”    

“That’s not what I mean,” he protested, flushing. “It’s just my dad. He doesn’t really want me to, well. He’s not too fond of humans. He kind of, uh, forbade me from coming back here, after you almost saw me the first time.”     

Astrid’s brow un-knit for the first time since she’d laid eyes on the strange boy, and she scrunched her lips together, trying to remember.

“I don’t…?” she trailed off, looking at the boy.

“Uh.” he rubbed the back of his neck. “You were. Well we were both quite young I think. It’s not important, anyway. But ever since then I’ve been forbidden from swimming upstream.”

“By god’s bones,” Astrid swore, springing to her feet. The boy raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not supposed to be out here this late at night,” she explained hurriedly, pulling on her boots. “I have to go.”

She turned, ready to sprint out of the clearing when—

“Wait!”

She turned around.

“Will I uh,” He floundered while she stood there impatiently.

“What? Will you what?”

“Will I see you again?” he asked quietly. Astrid paused, surprised.

“I… suppose so.”

He flashed her a smile, and then disappeared under the water, ripples spreading out from the spot he had vanished and washing against the river bank.

~

Astrid lay in bed, gazing out of her window at the surrounding forest. Her aunt was by her side, making tea and fussing.

“Really Astrid,” she chided. “It was your parent’s last wish that we keep you safe. How are we supposed to do that if you continue these reckless little adventures?”

“I was just walking,” Astrid told her, then sneezed. “Too bad it started to rain.”

“Too bad indeed,” she clucked, pressing a coal filled pan under Astrid’s sheets and handing a cup of tea to the girl. “Looks like you won’t be attending any lessons for a while. Sir Lout will just have to do without his favourite apprentice for a while.”   

Astrid waited for her aunt to leave before grinding her teeth together. Sir Lout. Ridiculous. She spared another, slightly wistful glance towards the forest, knowing full well she wouldn’t be able to visit that. That mer boy. For at least a couple of days.

That mer boy. She didn’t even know his name, she realised, sipping the tea.

So. Mer people were real. Propped up in bed, surrounded by childhood memorabilia, it seemed more like a dream than anything else. A fanciful game taken one step too far, perhaps a fever-induced mirage. But no. She had not been sick the previous day. A dip in the river and the shock of a life time is sometimes said to be cold inducing, however.

It had been many years since she’d thought about the mer. Often they had starred as the enemy in her childish games, many years ago, when she played with the other children of the town. How many times had she searched the water for a sign, a flash, anything. But there never was, and over time she just assumed that she had been mistaken. That her dreams were mistaken. Mer people weren’t real.

Astrid was jerked out of her musings suddenly. Painful memories boiled in her mind’s eye, and she remembered a completely different reason she had to be angry with the young boy.  


	2. Chapter 2

Astrid crashed into the clearing, axe in hand. The mer boy turned, mouth open, then closed it once he realised she was armed. Astrid reached down, leaning in very close to him. In her enraged state, she didn’t see him blushing deeply.

“Ok boy,” she spat, “Start talking.”

“What?” he asked, nonplussed. She rocked back on her heels, stood up, and began to pace.

“When I was younger,” she began conversationally, twisting her axe deftly in her hands, “my parents and I lived a little way across the sea from here. One day we were invited over to stay with my Aunt and Uncle, who lived here, in this village, on the edge of a great forest. So, we loaded up the boat and set sail. Only, halfway through the voyage, a storm hit. My parents and I were tossed into the ocean. I didn’t know how to swim, you see, but they did. I found a piece of driftwood to cling to, and looked around for my parents, but the last time I saw them before I fell unconscious, they were being dragged under.” Astrid took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing. “By your people.”

He gaped at her.

“You told me,” she went on lightly, thrusting her axe into the soft dirt by her feet, “that you’d seen me before, but when I asked you wouldn’t tell me when or where. I forgot, after all, what I’d been told. That my parents were drowned by mer people. Of course, I didn’t believe it, but only because I didn’t believe in you.” Astrid hurled the last word at him like a dagger. The boy stared at her, aghast.

“You think…. You think my people did that?” he asked, looking appalled. She shrugged coldly. He gazed up at her, his eyes hard.   

“Listen to me. We, the mer, have never ever hurt you or your family.”

“Yeah, I’ll just believe you.” Astrid scoffed.

“Look. You’re right, we were there that night. But not doing what you think! In fact, uh,” he stopped and looked down “I was uh. The one who pulled you out of the water.”

“Ok. Say you’re telling the truth,” Astrid’s arms shook on the handle. “Why didn’t you rescue my parents too?”     

“They fought us!” He gestured wildly with his hands “I’m guessing they had the same prejudices against the mer that your aunt and uncle do? They wouldn’t help us help them, and their clothes dragged them down.”  

Astrid’s eyes burned. The axe fell out of her hands and she slumped to the ground. Suddenly she stood. She was tired and sore. She needed to go.

“Wait!” His voice was softer that time. She stopped but didn’t turn around.

“Will you…?”  

“I don’t know.”                                           

~

Astrid woke up gasping for air. She looked frantically around, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. She was lying in her own bed, not flailing in cold cold sea water. She closed her eyes again, resting her cheek on the cool side of her pillow. It had been months since she’d last had that dream.

But, lying in the darkness, she realised that something about that night had been different. She’d heard a voice. She could still feel the shadow of someone’s nails digging into her arm, dragging her through the water. Dragging her to safety.


	3. Chapter 3

“Psst!” Astrid stepped self-consciously into the clearing by the river, looking around. It was twilight, and moths were abundant in the warm air. She balled her hands into fists. It had taken her a week of intense internal struggle to convince herself to return to the cove and visit him again. Perhaps she had taken too long. Tension was evident in her downturned mouth, she turned to go.    

“Psst,” someone whispered back. She swept around to see the boy, looking at her half amused, half astonished.

“You came back!” he said in a restrained voice.     

“So did you,” she noted. “I thought it was forbidden.”

“Yeah well…Dad’s pretty overprotective of me.”

“I see.”

There was a silence. Astrid took a step closer to the river and sunk to her knees, leaning against one of the large rocks by the water.

“So you never told me your name,” she said finally.

“I didn’t, did I.”

“I mean, I can always call you pervy mer boy but…”

“Ah.” He flushed again. She smirked. “That’s ok. You don’t have to do that. I mean I’ll tell you my name. It’s Hiccup.”

“Hiccup,” she mused, tapping her chin. “I like mine better.”

He puffed his cheeks up and blew the air out in a long breath.

“Tell my dad that.”

“Astrid.”

“What?”

“I’m Astrid,” she said, and, not knowing what else to do, she stuck her hand out. Hiccup eyed it, then looked up at her.

“Uh.”

“Give me your hand.” She motioned, before reaching down and pulling it off the bank. She fit her hand in his, and shook it.

“That’s called a hand shake,” she told him, trying not to laugh at his bewildered expression, her hand tingling. “It’s a polite way of greeting someone.” She gave his hand back, and he studied it as though expecting it to be different somehow. It occurred to Astrid that that was the first time she had voluntarily touched this strange boy. Well, apart from when she was threatening him. She was about to say something, when Hiccup grinned widely.

“Amazing!” he said enthusiastically.

“Eh,” she shrugged. “How do mer people great each other?”

He offered her his hand, palm up.

“You put your hand on top,” he said, reaching out to grab her wrist as she’d done his, before stopping. “Um, may I?” he asked. She nodded, and he laid her hand on his. “That’s a very formal greeting,” he told her, their hands still touching. “A more casual greeting, say between friends would be like this.” He reached over and flicked her on the cheek.

“Hey!” Astrid swatted him away. “That hurt.”

“Sorry.”

She leaned down, and flicked him back. Hiccup winced.

“It’s less painful underwater.”

~

“I’ll make you a deal.”

Hiccup looked up from the bubbles he was blowing in the water and cocked his head.

“Ok?”

“Ok,” Astrid looked down at him, her mouth set. “I’ll teach you about the human world if you teach me how to swim.”

~

“Hey babe.”

Astrid groaned, swinging behind her with an axe in an attempt to kill him and get it over with. Snotlout chuckled, appearing before her in all his average glory.

“What do you want Snotlout?” she asked, continuing on her way to the library.

“Nothing. Just haven’t seen my princess in a while.” He matched her pace, apparently headed off to the same lesson as she was.   

“Yeah well, let’s just say that’s the way I like it.”

“Ohh cold.” Snotlout pretended to look hurt before leering at her in a winning fashion. “The twins, Legs and I are going for a dip later. Want to join?”  

Astrid didn’t even spare him a cold glance; she just turned on her heel. Behind her she heard Ruff and Tuff emerging.

“Idiot,” Ruff said, making a sound that gave the impression she had hit Snotlout over the head with something heavy. “Everyone knows Astrid can’t swim.”  


	4. Chapter 4

Astrid pulled her tunic over her head, and Hiccup turned away. She rolled her eyes.

“You can look this time,” she called, albeit a little stiffly. Hiccup shook his head stubbornly.

“Last time was an accident and I still almost got my head lopped off.”

She shook her bangs out of her eyes, and then stepped into the river. It wasn’t cold, seeing as it was the beginning of summer, but it wasn’t warm. Perhaps refreshing is the best word to use, she decided, carefully walking deeper into the translucent water. Hiccup swam over to her when she was knee deep and eyed her appraisingly.

“Ok,” he exhaled thoughtfully, “so first things first, can you float?”

Astrid flushed and shook her head, daring him to laugh at her, but Hiccup merely nodded.

“Well then. That’s where we’re gonna start. I, uh, need you to come out into deeper water, is that ok?”

“Of course that’s ok,” she scoffed, wading quickly further in. What did this boy think she was, scared or something?

“Try uh. Leaning back into the water.”

Astrid attempted to lean back as far as she could without letting her feet leave the ground, and fell over. She emerged, spluttering and red-faced.

“It’s ok. Um, may…?”

She motioned for him to go ahead, and hesitantly he wrapped one arm around her back and the other under her knees, almost bridal style, and lay her down on the waters surface. Astrid could feel the warmth from him through the thin linen and her skin burned.      

“Ok. Just lie like that, lie still. Think about something other than what you’re doing, because this does come instinctually but you don’t want to focus on it.”

“Ask me questions about the human world,” Astrid said, gazing up at the pale sky. She heard Hiccup laugh softly.

“Where to begin?” he mused.

~

“Did you know?”

“Know what?”

Astrid snapped her book shut, glaring at the two sitting across from her. Fishlegs’ eyes glinted. He had the air of someone who was about to impart great knowledge upon their measly heads.

“Well, what’s up Legs?” prompted Tuffnut, halfway through building a paper plane with a ‘borrowed’ page from his book.      

“I heard,” Fishlegs said triumphantly, “that someone spotted a mer person not too far from Lore River”.

The others snorted, and Astrid started to cough.    

“Go spin your yarn somewhere else Fishlegs,” Ruff drawled, thumping Astrid on the back.

“No I’m serious!” He looked at them earnestly.

“Sure,” Ruffnut rolled her eyes.

Snotlout spat onto the floor.

“Didn’t they say that it was the mer who…” He broke off, shooting Astrid a sidelong glance.  

“I wonder what their anatomical structure is like,” Fishlegs said. The twins looked confused, and Snotlout grinned.

“Easy,” he smirked, “we find this one and cut ‘im open.”

Suddenly he jumped back, finding an axe wedged in the table in front of him.

“Or,” said Astrid, with all the grace and murderous intent of a queen, “we leave him well alone.”


	5. Chapter 5

“You’re really coming along!” Hiccup slapped the surface of the water in a congratulatory style.

Astrid surfaced, pushing her wet hair out of her eyes.

“Slow progress though,” she sighed. She’d only learned the beginnings of the most basic swimming form, kicking her legs and waving her arms to stay afloat.

“I look ridiculous anyway,” she whined lightly, and Hiccup laughed.

“You are the most graceful human I’ve seen,” he assured her, and she smiled, catching his eye. They held the gaze for perhaps a second too long; then she looked away. She could feel her cheeks start to burn.

“Want to try again?”

~

“So, who is he?”

Astrid scowled almost as much as Snotlout did, but for an entirely different reason.

“She’s not disappearing so she can meet up with some guy in the woods,” Snotlout growled. Astrid whipped around.

“You think you can speak for me?” she hissed, prodding him hard in the chest. Snotlout backed up, protesting weakly.     

“But, Astrid,” Fishlegs said, “you haven’t been meeting up with a guy in the woods, have you?”

“’Course not,” muttered Astrid. She glowered at the group, then turned away. And stopped.

“What’s that?” she asked, all anger gone, pointing at a strange glass box in the middle of town. The others shrugged. Astrid threw it one last glance, then retreated inside for the night. In the full moon, the glass box sparkled like rain.     

~

“But why do you need toes?” he asked, his face glowing with sincerity. They were lying on the bank together, Hiccup’s fin and her feet dangling in the water. She shrugged.

“Something to do with balance? I think.”

“What about fingers?” He lifted her hand and hooked his pinkie around hers.

“You have fingers too,” she pointed out, smiling.

“Yeah, but yours aren’t webbed.” He traced her hand gently.

“I think because we don’t live in water, so we don’t need the webbing.”

“Hmm.”

Astrid sat up, pulled her legs out of the water, and scooted a little closer to Hiccup.

“Sit up, mer boy.”

He did so, and she turned him so his back was to her.

“What are you…?”

“I’m going to give you the full human experience. The most crucial of all our rituals. The hair braiding ceremony.”

~

“There was another sighting.”

The others looked around, excited, but Astrid hung back. She could feel the heaviness in her shoulders, the kind that always seemed to hang around when they started talking about the ‘mysterious mer person’.

“Yeah,” Fishlegs went on enthusiastically, “they say he or she isn’t too far from here. They’re planning to set out soon and try and scope the situation out.”

“I hope they find him,” Snotlout said menacingly. “Those mer people lost us two of our best warriors.” He looked quickly at Astrid.      

“Yeah,” Tuffnut mimed smashing something with his fists. “He’ll be swimming through a sea of pain soon enough”

“Guys leave off.” Astrid massaged her temples. “Do they even have any proof that it is what they say?”

Fishlegs shook his head.

“Don’t worry Astrid!” Snotlout smiled confidently. “We’ll find him soon enough. And then we’ll see.”


	6. Chapter 6

“I think your dad is right.”

Hiccup, who had been focusing all his attention on her kicking technique, blanched.

“Uh. In which, uh, area?”

Astrid carefully righted herself, turning triumphant to Hiccup when she didn’t fall over, only to see him watching her warily. She frowned.      

“Only in that humans are dangerous. Why? What else does he say?”

Hiccup coughed, flopping onto his back and staring up at the sky.        

“He says a lot of things,” he murmured. Astrid watched him, noting the shadow of pain on his face, and felt her chest contract strangely. She dithered for a second before reaching out and punching him gently on the shoulder. Hiccup righted himself, looking indignant.     

“That’s a human display of affection,” she told him, trying not to laugh. Hiccup’s face softened, and he flushed again.

“You mean, uh, you, uh, feel… affectionate… towards me?” Astrid blushed too, and pushed him over into the water. He came up laughing.

“Don’t push your luck pervy boy.”

“Hey I thought I was free of that!”

Astrid smirked.

“Never.”

~

 Astrid woke one morning to the sound of a trumpet blaring. Confused, she quickly pulled on her tunic and boots, then raced out into the courtyard. The rest of the teens were lolling around the steps to the library, watching the knights gather.

“What’s happening?” she asked, looking from one person to the next. Snotlout offered her a smirk.

“They think they’ve found the mer. They’re going fishing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry that this is only short! its bc CLIFFHANGER whoooooooooooooooooooooo


	7. Chapter 7

~

Astrid raced through the forest, tripping over roots and stumbling on wet grass. She reached the clearing and called, softly.

“Hiccup!”

He appeared in about half a minute, smiling widely.

“Hello!” he said happily, “You’re here early.”

“Hiccup.” Astrid put a hand on her heaving chest, willing her heart to stop beating so erratically. “Hiccup, you’ve got to go”

“What?”

“No time to explain,” she looked around nervously, “I think the people. They might be coming for you. I can’t be sure but, please.” she paused, breathing deeply. Hiccup frowned.

“You mean, there are more people coming?”

“Yes!” she gestured frantically downstream, “you’ve got to get out of here!”

“But,” he stared up at her, “but what if I can’t come back?”

Astrid’s breath caught in her throat and she coughed. She couldn’t think about that now. She wouldn’t think about it.

“We’ll see each other again, I promise,” she told him. “I won’t let you slip out of my life that easy. Now get going! Hurry!”   

Hiccup took one last regretful look at her, before he vanished with a flick of his tail.

Astrid sank to the ground, all her adrenaline flooding out of her. If Hiccup had been caught… She thumbed furiously under her eyes, then paused. She opened her eyes, and looked around. She. Hadn’t. Realised Hiccup being in danger would affect her this much. Sure, they were friends, but still…  

Oh well, she reasoned a little shakily. Time to sort that out later. She walked slowly out of the clearing, her own words to Hiccup ringing in her ears.      

~

The walk from her house to the clearing was lengthy, and Astrid took her time to walk back so as to relax herself. It was warm now; the grass was springy and everything was still. When she reached the village, she was the picture of calm.

Swinging her axe idly, Astrid took a few seconds to notice something was off when she got back to the village centre. Everyone was crowded round something large and glass.

“What are you?” Cautiously, Astrid pushed her way to the front.

"No.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

Astrid pressed her hands against the glass, face twisted, and stared and stared at the contents of the tank.

The tank itself was big and sturdy, a rectangle shape, just like she’d seen being built in the town the previous week. It was filled to the brim with crystal clear water, and, lying at the bottom of the tank. Bound in rope.

“Hiccup,” she whispered. Then, suddenly, she remembered where she was. The rest of the people milling around the tank had gone silent. They were watching her, curiously, some with sympathy in their eyes. Clearly they thought she was having some intense emotional reaction due to coming face to face with her parents’ killer. She took a deep breath, and pushed herself away from the glass. She needed to think this through. Formulate a plan. She needed to save Hiccup.     

The rest of the day her stomach was writhing with anxiety and anger. How had he been caught? She had done everything she could to warn him; how could this have happened? How could she have let this happen? And what were they going to do to Hiccup now that they had him? Every time she walked through the square she glanced at the tank. Thankfully, he seemed to be unconscious, but it was only on her third walk that she realised exactly why.  

They had beaten him.

Fury coursed through her limbs, tingling at the tips of her fingers, pooling in her legs and arms and stomach. They hurt him.

She shook slightly, walking swiftly to Sir Lout’s house. She knocked on the door, once, twice. Snotlout’s unappealing face appeared in the doorway just before she knocked a third time, and he looked down, startled.

“Astrid!” he started, but she pushed past him.

“I need to talk to your dad.”

Snotlout looked at her, confused, and pointed to the room on the right. She nodded curtly, and marched into the room without knocking. Spitelout looked up, obviously confused.

“Astrid. What’s this about?”

She didn’t bother with messing around.

“The mer boy. What’s going to happen to him?”

His face softened with what he thought was understanding.

“Don’t worry girl. He’ll be taken care of.”

“What’s going. To. Happen.” She drew each word out carefully, dangerously. She needed to play this right. Spitelout looked at her curiously.

“We were going to hang him in the town square in a week’s time.”

She had to force herself to show nothing of the anger once again lighting her from the inside. Hanging someone is one thing, but hanging a mer person? Letting their tails dry and blister in the sun? It was too cruel for anyone, let alone Hiccup. Suddenly an idea struck her.

“Let me deal with him.”

“What?”

“Let me deal with him. For. Revenge for what he did to my family. Or his people did, anyway”

Spitelout looked shocked.

“I. Aren’t you a bit young for this?” he blustered, but Astrid stood her ground.

“Let me do this. For my family.” She held his gaze steadily. Finally, he nodded.

“He will be given to you to dispose of in any way you desire. I wish you well.”

“Thank you.”

~

Hiccup was in the tank for a week. Astrid walked past him many times, but she never once saw him awake. Deep down, she feared she was too late.

The night before she was to ‘dispose of him’, the village had their last sickening hurrah. At Snotlout’s suggestion, they brought Hiccup to the stocks, arranging him so that his head and hands were stuck, but his tail dangled in water.

The people cheered. It took several hours for the square to clear and several more for the lights in the windows of the houses to die down. Under cover of darkness, Astrid slipped out and approached the lonely figure.

“Hiccup,” she breathed, rushing to him, touching his hands gently, resting her forehead against his. Hiccup stirred, lips cracked, breath hot.

“Astrid?” he murmured.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered, “I’m getting you out of this. I promise. You’ll be fine.”


End file.
